Whoopi Goldberg and DreamTeam Entertainment Group are pleased to announce that two-time Grammy Award winner India.Arie will make her Broadway stage debut this fall in a new, re-envisioned production of Ntozake Shange's acclaimed play, FOR COLORED GIRLS WHO HAVE CONSIDERED SUICIDE WHEN THE RAINBOW IS ENUF.
Directed by Shirley Jo Finney and choreographed by three-time Tony Award winner
Hinton Battle, FOR COLORED GIRLS... begins preview performances on Tuesday, August 19, 2008 at Broadway's Circle in the Square Theatre (1633 Broadway at 50th Street). Opening Night is Monday, September 8 at 6:45 p.m.
Performed by a cast of seven, FOR COLORED GIRLS... is a stunning and explosive series of prose poems and stories illuminating the identity of black women in America, as they reveal themselves, their lives, triumphs, hardships and ultimately their discovery of inner strength and love.
This re-envisioned production of FOR COLORED GIRLS... will feature new and updated material from Ms. Shange. Complete casting will be announced soon.
FOR COLORED GIRLS... originally began Off-Broadway at The Public Theater in May 1976, before transferring to Broadway on September 10, 1976. That production played the Booth Theatre for 876 performances and became the top-grossing dramatic play on Broadway that season.
Praised by The New York Times as "a play that should be seen, savored and treasured," the original Off-Broadway production and Broadway transfer was honored with an Obie Award and an Outer Critics Circle Award, as well Tony and Grammy Award nominations. Following the success of that production, FOR COLORED GIRLS... went on to tour throughout the U.S. for two years.
Ntozake Shange (en-toe-ZAH-kee SHANG-gay) is an acclaimed poet, playwright, novelist and performer who first garnered national attention with FOR COLORED GIRLS... . Since then, she has written a number of celebrated works, including three novels, four volumes of poetry, several screenplays, essays and numerous stage plays. Among her many awards and citations, Ms. Shange has been honored with the Columbia Medal of Excellence, The Los Angeles Times Award for Poetry and a Guggenheim Fellowship.
India.Arie, the highly acclaimed singer songwriter who impacted music in the new millennium with her unique acoustic soul sound and profound lyrics, has won numerous awards including two Grammy Awards, 16 Grammy nominations and three NAACP Image Awards among others. She is currently working on her fourth studio album, Testimony: Vol. II, Love & Politics.
Shirley Jo Finney has directed in theatres throughout the country including the McCarter Theatre, Pasadena Playhouse, Goodman Theater, Alabama Shakespeare Festival, Cleveland Playhouse and The Mark Taper Forum, among others. She has been honored with an NAACP Image Award and an L.A. Drama Critics Circle Award for her West Coast production of Yellow Man at the Fountain Theatre. FOR COLORED GIRLS... marks Ms. Finney's Broadway directorial debut.
Celebrated choreographer and Broadway veteran
Hinton Battle is a three-time Tony winner for his performances in Sophisticated Ladies, Miss Saigon and The Tap Dance Kid. A recipient of the NAACP Image Award and The Fred Astaire Award, his choreography can be seen in the recent films Idlewild, Bolden and The Great Observer, and on ABC-TV's "Dancing with the Stars."
With musical direction by seven-time Tony-nominated orchestrator Harold Wheeler (Dirty Rotten Scoundrels,
Hairspray, The Full Monty), the new Broadway production of FOR COLORED GIRLS... features set design by Tony Award nominee Scott Bradley (Seven Guitars), costume design by Tony Award nominee Paul Tazewell (
In the Heights,
The Color Purple), lighting design by Victor Tan (As You Like It, Macbeth and Romeo & Juliet on Broadway) and sound design by Mitch Greenhill.
Visit www.ForColoredGirlsBway.com for more information and updates.
